Editor’s Note

Social media is an infrastructure of web2.0 (Couldry &van dijeck;2015). Social media as a field of study has grown with the leaping growth in social technologies. The social media platforms are reinventing themselves with new features and simultaneously newer platforms are emerging. Platforms like Twitter, which is known as X has undergone a major change after the taking over of Twitter by Elon Musk. Some of the changes on social media platforms have occurred within a short span of time and that makes social media research difficult.

Social media has socio-cultural, political, psychological, economic, policy and legal implications for the users in contemporary society. The study of social media is inherently complex due to the vast interacting parts that establish its many constituent ecosystems, namely: the features, affordances, infrastructure, policy, content, user bases, and broader social contexts (Anderson & Brown-Devlin;2024).The dynamic nature of the social media platforms makes it complex to research in terms of theoretical frameworks. What may be valid now. need not be valid later.

The diverse nature of social media is reflected in the papers of this issue.

Social media and Queer movements: the vernacular Missing link by Apratim Bhattacharya & Mausami Bhattacharyya examines how social media platforms have emerged as powerful allies, providing platforms for marginalized voices, dismantling stereotypes, and cultivating empathy on a global scale. However, gap persists in vernacular content, particularly in semi-urban and rural areas, regarding queer individuals’ experiences.

From screens to streets: Exploring the Relationship between social media and offline activism among the college students by Jishnu.D & Shamala R focusses on the relationship between students' participation in social media activism and their engagement in offline activism. The study identifies a positive correlation between the interconnectedness of virtual and real-life forms of activism.

Exploring Interstate Diaspora Experiences Through Instagram: A Netnographic Study of Malayali Migrants in Indian Cities by Muhammed Swalih K, Dr. Sapna M S. In this paper the living experiences of interstate diaspora is studied by the analysis of Instagram pages of Malayalam diaspora based in different cities.

Navigating the digital landscape: Social Media’s influence on Climate activism and Environmental awareness by Apoorva Mahiwal, Saad Ullah khan and Sadaf Khan. In this research study the role of social media in promoting awareness about environmental issues has been carried out by using cases of climate activists.

Media Fatigue and Information overload: How Social media influences Support for offline movements in India by Namit Hans, Shikha Rai and Garvit Garg. Their research looks at how information overload on social media can lead to disinterest in the cause among people. This study was done by taking the social media coverage of farmer’s protest.

Navigating faith in the Digital age: A study of social media and online churches in communicating with congregations in the Madurai region It examines how the churches used online sermons and social media during the Covid-19 pandemic to communicate within traditional religious communities.

Exploring the misuse of deep fakes technology in India: Implications for society by Aahana Chopra & Ananya Shukla. This study explores the different dimensions of deep fake technology and its malicious intentions and its implications for society.

Dr. Manjushree G Naik has contributed to putting this issue together. I would like to acknowledge and thank all the reviewers for the meticulous review. I thank all the researchers who responded to our call for papers on this issue. After peer-review less than one-fourth of the papers submitted have been accepted for publication.

Awaiting feedback.

Dr. Padma Rani
Editor
Professor & Director
Manipal Institute of Communication
Manipal, India.